Communism

Communism is an economic and/or political ideology. There are many different definitions of communism, formulated both by adherents and by detractors, but on the whole, most communists favour state control of a country's economy (often through state ownership), the abolition of social class, and the granting of political power to workers.

Some states are explicitly built around the communist ideology, incorporating it into their constitutional framework, their legal system, and their economic system.

Armatirion — the Republic of Armatirion is one of the better-established communist states, although it is also one of the more moderate. A majority of its industry is state-owned, and foreign trade is heavily regulated, but there is nevertheless a small amount of private industry.

Gronk — following the collapse of the Co-Operative Union, the core of Gronk has re-emerged as a People's Republic.

Mari'im — the Mari'im Islands follow a political philosophy (ki'ali) which incorporates communism as a major component. (The other components are environmentalism and traditional spiritualism). Private enterprise is not banned on an individual level, but corporations are not permitted except under certain rare circumstances.

Patakia — communist forces have controlled the ethnically Pataki regions of Rovens since 278, when the whole of Rovens was ruled by Guwimith. They now fight the Rovenian government, which claims Patakia as its sovereign territory. The Pataki communists say that they are building a "utopia" where all citizens are equal, exploitation does not exist, and services are provided free to all citizens.

Porto Capital — The constitution describes Porto Capital as a socialist state. Porto Capital is a partyless (in practice, one-party) state with extensive government control over the economy, state-owned industry, collective farms and heavy welfare programmes.

Solelhada — sometimes considered to be the oldest communist state in Vexillium, having experienced a communist revolution in 217 AP. Most of the country has a communist economy, with most private enterprise being forbidden in favour of state ownership. (The provinces of Morangal and Alt Aigadorenc, which were only incorporated into the country recently, are an exception.) Political parties which do not accept the principles of the current constitution are outlawed, leaving the communist Partit del Solelh as the only significant political organisation.

South Dignania — the southern regions of Dignania are presently controlled by the United Brotherhood, an armed communist movement. In 299 AP, the Brotherhood announced a plan to nationalise all private industry and collectivise farms.

Trinia — although a monarchy, Trinia considers itself to be a communist state. It does not have a centrally planned economy, and there is little state ownership of the means of production, but it is legally required that all companies be co-operatives (that is, owned by their workers rather than by single indivduals or shareholders).

West Uhlan — the Percevejan peninsula in western Longerath has long been home to a communist guerilla movement, with the Uhlanian population being particularly supportive of it. When Lendian forces finally withdrew from Percevejan, the communists declared a People's Republic of West Uhlan, based on strict communist principles.

There are many different variants of communism, and many different labels (often overlapping) by which they are known. Often, adherents of one variant will deny that adherents of another variant are "true" communists.

[TECH: This is highly incomplete, and not in any particular order yet. Solelhada and Armatirion, as the oldest communist states around, would have a lot of importance, but until we know their exact histories, we can't really complete this.]

Exnerism — named after long-time leader of the West Uhlanian communists, Iosef Exner. Exnerism is a particularly extreme form of communism, emphasising armed struggle against "the forces of capitalism and imperialism".

Penyassism — the doctrines of Rhosei Penyassa, a leader and primary theorist of the Pataki People's Army (see Patakia, above). Penyassa believed in internationalism (that is, that communism transcended national and ethnic divides, the abolition of money (to be replaced with the allocation of resources by a central authority), and an emphasis on education. Penyassa was assassinated in 301 AP.

Caletonism — based around the writings of Enrico Caletonez, a Lendian philosopher and political theorist who was one of the earliest people to write a comprehensive, formal communist doctrine. His work has been most influential in his homeland, but his views have also gained currency with other communists around the world. Caletonism, unlike some other political doctrines, rejects the idea of political revolution — Caletonez argued that a country's political system reflected its economic structure, not the other way around, and so a communist government was only possible when a communist economy had already been achieved. Caletonez envisaged communism as being brought about through the use of industrial action, being driven by a determined workers' movement — he believed that the power of the working class united would be sufficient to overcome any political opposition.

Ducatism — a very moderate type of communism formulated by Garamono Ducato, long-time leader of the Lendian (later Lendosan) Communist Party. Ducatism not only rejects the idea of political revolution, like Caletonism, but goes further, rejecting the idea of revolution completely. Ducatists prefer to speak of a "evolution", which they believe cannot be "hurried along" — according to Ducato, rapid (particularly violent) attempts to create a communist society are doomed to failure, and will only create a "hollow shell" of communism that will fail to deliver what it promised. Ducatists believe that the proper duty of communists today is to help create the conditions under which communism can evolve naturally, not to force the establishment of communism prematurely. Some communists consider Ducatism to be so "watered down" as to not be communist at all, but Ducatists deny this — according to Ducatists, communists should be defined by their vision of what an ideal society is, not by their views on how to achieve it.

Audantism — Audantism, named for Piolsan communist Nuvaro Audanto, is a broad designation for any theory which mixes communist economics with conservative social values. Audantists reject the description of communism as "revolutionary", believing instead that it is capitalism, which promotes "greed, materialism, and individualism", which is transforming traditional society. Most Audantists see their philosophy as the only "pure" form of communism, arguing that their opponents undermine communism by mixing it with "dangerous and destructive" beliefs about gender equality, multiculturalism, and anti-clericalism.

Kialism — the guiding philosophy of the Mari'im state, ki'ali, is a mixture of mainstream communism, environmentalism, and traditional Mari'im spiritualism. For the most part, it is found only within Mari'im, but it has a certain number of followers in other countries — the combination of left-wing economics and environmentalism is not uncommon around Vexillium, and some of those who have these views adopt ki'ali as their own philosophy.

Taraerism — named (against his will) after Taraer, the Seneschal of Trinia. The term Taraerism is used to describe both the economic system employed in Trinia (see above) and the integration of this system with Trinia's traditional monarchy. The term has little currency outside Trinia.